Assassins and Innocence
by NaruShika-Forever
Summary: Nagisa Shiota is a known murderer, already undergone trial at the age of 17 for the murder of his mother. He was sent to a mental facility, but Nagisa knows how to act the part to get out. His mother's work was left unfinished. Allen Walker hallucinates demons he needs to destroy, and Cross can't handle him anymore. He can only cover up so many murders before it gets too difficult.
1. Just Two More Fuckups

**Cross Marian**

"That little shit is gonna fuck with everyone in there, I know it." Cross growled to himself. He had just dropped off his young charge, Allen Walker, at one of his acquaintance's facilities. Southwood Psychiatrics Retreat was considered one of the best hospitals in the country. Since he personally knew Irina Jelavic, the owner of this facility, he was able to ask for a favor with such a high chance of it working out properly. Irina was one of his… closer friends. That time when they met had been wonderful, in both their opinions. All of the things she can do with her body...

Cross trailed off into thought, too far gone to notice a man walking up beside him. "Too bad she's not interested in messing around anymore." He muttered, mildly dejected.

He sat in silence, allowing himself to run through all of the situations they had found themselves in, all of which they managed to mess around after. There was the time with the cops, the time with her parents, the time with the brat… and so many more. At some point, though, she up and decided that being friends would be better for both of them and left to run this place. Family business and all. She used to be annoyed by the pressure people would place on her to make sure this place did well, but at some point that switched and she started actually caring about the screw ups in this place.

"You should stop gripping the chair so hard. It would be inappropriate to break the facility's items." Cross shifted his head toward the black-haired man next to him. If the guy was curious about what Cross was thinking, he didn't show it. He also didn't seem put off by Cross' quick glare. "You dropping off a kid for the first time, too?" With merely those words, the bag's under the guy's eyes became more accentuated and his brow furrowed. If Cross had to guess, the man was around age 40, maybe a couple years younger.

"Yeah, don't know what else to do with the brat. He's just gotten so fucked up since I took him in. Doesn't help that his old man was crazy, too." The raven just nodded along. "What's up with your brat? Most people don't like it when I say this shit."

A sigh escaped the stranger's mouth. "That kid's been screwed over by life. Goes back long before I met him." A solemn look passed his face, though he quickly hid it. "He was left for me to deal with, since I was the one who found him in the first place. No one knew where else he could go, since the kid's so young and the people felt bad such a young kid was going into the system. A couple of them didn't want to lose another child, the others were blinded by his charisma." Even though Cross was definitely curious to figure out just what this kid was up to, he didn't pry. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and all that bull. It didn't seem like this man could be bullied into telling the story, anyway.

Allen's story was still too fresh for him to tell in exchange. Mana's story was still too fresh.

"Well, things like this happen, even to those too young to understand. The name's Cross Marian, by the way. My brat is Allen. You'll be able to tell who he is when you see him, stands out in a crowd. He's the politest little shit you'll ever find, but don't let it fool you." Cross growled. All of the women he could have taken to his bed were instead enamored with Allen's cute younger brother act. The boy even stole a couple of his targets and took them to his own to have his way with.

"Same with Nagisa. He's a cute little brat, and he has every act known to humanity memorized and perfected. He can read people's personalities and tailor his own to get the best results. He won't even wait for you to turn your back before going for the kill." Cross paused for a moment, trying to figure out if that was literal or figurative language, but he let it pass. His mind flagged a reminder of how the kid could have 'gone into the system' and how the people felt bad for him.

It was a thought to ponder at a later time. Especially if the kid would actually kill someone. That entire thing about 'going for the kill' was too serious to fully brush off. "Well, Allen could probably do that. For now he just mimics his old man, being the gentlemanly type. It freaks people out when he steals all their cash with a smile on his face. The sadistic bastard." This time it was the man who paused. "I never did get your name. You know mine, after all. It's only fair."

"Yes, I am Tadaomi Karasuma, just call me Karasuma. I am not entirely comfortable with the English way of addressing people." Cross nodded. He'd been to Japan before, and it had been an odd switch.

"Just call me whichever you like."

"Yes, Marian, what do you mean by stealing money? Has he been arrested before?" Cross laughed. There was no way Allen would let himself get caught by any run of the mill cop. He could charm his way out of anything, except maybe murder. Gambling didn't exactly fall under something that most people would check for, especially where they tend to live. Then again, Cross kept the two on the move, changing location nearly every month. People didn't tend to like having their hard earned cash taken by a young brat.

"He's real good at betting, that's all. People think they can swipe him of his goods, but instead he takes theirs right from under them. I've seen the guy strip people to their underwear before letting them leave. Sure, he normally gives back the clothing, but the people leave with their egos crushed. It's fun to watch, sometimes." Karasuma nodded, clearly not as put off about this than actually stealing. It's probably a good thing he doesn't know that Allen is only 15.

"I know of one time we were on a train. I let the kid go explore since it would be a while before our stop, and he was missing for thirty minutes. Normally I wouldn't worry about something like that, but when he left there was this grin on his face that meant trouble. So, I followed. When I found the guy in the way back of the train, he was picking on a group of three men. Next to Allen was some other brat, probably around 20, that was stripped naked. Allen seemed to be defending the boy, so I didn't do anything. After that, it only took an hour before the three men across from him were also stripped, and the other brat had his clothing back. Allen threw the cash back at him by the time those three men had to get off the train. He gave them their stuff back, which they all took without prompt.

"I could tell they'd been sucked into his charm, probably even while they were being dominated by him. One of the guys gave Allen a gift of thanks, some rock with a small amount of value. Don't think the kid sold it yet. He's sentimental about shit like that." He didn't mention that Allen liked to have proof that he affected someone's life, that he might have saved someone in a small way. That Allen feared he didn't truly exist, or that his presence was that equivalent to a dying dog at the side of the road. Cross didn't mention how the kid picked up his gambling skills, or how he was able to hold his alcohol more than was healthy for a growing boy.

In exchange, Karasuma told Cross about his adventures when chasing the Shiota family. "Nagisa's mother was a spit fire. She was able to lie like the devil and sing like an angel. Whenever I met them, she had dinner ready and was wearing beautiful clothing, and she made sure that Nagisa was as well. She didn't want anyone to think there was anything off about her family. Nagisa seemed to agree well enough. He acted the way she wanted, making friends with people of all ages. At first I thought some of his acquaintances would be too dangerous for a young boy to know, but I later found out that the kid could hold his own. No one wanted to mess with him, since people more powerful than them would defend the kid.

"Everywhere the two went, they left a trail of broken hearts. Not all were romantic, of course. There were many friends that were left behind by their crazy lifestyle. I spent a good portion of my life just trying to keep up with those two. It's sad to say, but they managed to fool me multiple times into thinking that they wouldn't be moving out of town for the next couple of weeks, and then they'd up and vanish that night. It was amazing, if you think about it. And I knew that even as I followed them. No matter how frustrated and angry I got at those two, I always had an amount of respect for their skills." Karasuma trailed off, most likely getting lost in thought. Cross did the same.

It was six years ago when he first found that kid, Allen Walker, sitting next to the newly dug grave. The name Mana Walker was etched into the uneven stone. Allen couldn't buy a proper grave marker, so he was forced to make one of his own using the biggest rock he could find, and carving into it with a smaller rock. The kid's hands were bloody by the end of it, but he finished his work. Cross tried speaking to him, tried to explain that this didn't have to be a sad thing. Mana could move on to the next life, and Allen could continue to live his without regret.

He gave Allen his current address, and said to come whenever within the week, before he planned to leave once more. Cross did plan to watch him from afar, and make sure the kid didn't try to harm himself in any way.

It was a good thing he did. On the third day, he saw Allen with a knife. With a short shout of alarm, Cross ran to free the knife from Allen's shaking hand. He didn't manage to make it before Allen damaged his already scarred arm, etching two deep slits in his hand. The bloody mess took more of his attention than Allen's reasoning. He assumed it was because Mana died, that was clear enough. The only problem was that Allen must have been told to 'keep walking' multiple times during his life with Mana. That man would tell anyone who gave him the time of day that they just had to keep walking, no matter what happens.

It must be carved into his mind far more than any knife could do to his hand.

Cross would figure out later what that would mean for the kid. His current worry was getting the bleeding to stop without a trip to the hospital. One of the people around this area was a nurse that owed him a favor, even though he didn't like Cross much anymore.

**Karasuma Tadaomi**

Karasuma couldn't help his train of thought. Going all the way back to when he thought Nagisa was an innocent child with a crazy mom, back when he could underestimate the boy's cherub looks and friendly smiles.

Shiota Nagisa had been six for a couple of months when Karasuma finally got close enough to the pair to actually make contact. He knew it would be a risky move to actually initiate contact, but with such a young kid there, he had to divert from protocol.

Hiromi was at the house doing chores, watched my multiple agents to make sure she couldn't make a run for it, or kill all of them. Since she wasn't able to watch over Nagisa, it was the best time to talk to him and gauge just what was happening to the poor kid.

"Hello, little one. I am Karasuma Tadaomi. Are you in trouble in any way?" He asked, attempting to soften his strict features. It must have worked, because the kid smiled at him with shining eyes.

He softly answered 'yes' before rolling up his sleeve. Karasuma berated himself for not noticing the kid was wearing long sleeves even on such a hot day. That was a clear sign of abuse. This time he made sure to scan the boy for any other abnormalities. His clothing was perfect, no stains on it despite the child being merely 6 years old. What looked to be makeup was covering his cheek. It was professionally done, but Karasuma had seen enough people hiding wounds to know the difference between natural colouring and makeup.

Marring the pale skin was a dark, purple and green bruise the shape of a finger. Karasuma was sure that if the boy were to continue to raise his sleeve, there would be an entire hand.

"I see. Well, would you mind coming with me to a police station? Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. We just want to talk with you for a little bit and maybe talk to your parent. Is that alright?" The quiet boy nodded his consent and took Karasuma's outstretched hand. A couple of hidden agents moved out of their changing line of sight so the kid didn't get scared.

"Can you tell me a little about your home life?" Karasuma asked. Nagisa grinned widely.

"My mother makes sure everything is always wonderful! I looooove her food! And she always makes sure that I can make friend with people, always! So I'm never lonely." Karasuma couldn't help but feel that the kid was reciting a line he'd been fed over and over. It didn't make sense for him to smile while saying something he didn't want to, though.

"She sounds nice." He commented, if only to keep the boy talking.

"She is! Most of the time, at least. When mama's in a bad mood, it's no fun. When that happens I'm supposed to be silent or play with some other friends. But that's okay! I like playing with the Onee-san and Onii-san! They're really nice to me and let me do a lot of fun things." As in on cue, a small group of people ranging from 15 years old to 25 years began to enter the street from the buildings.

"Hey, bro, where you going with our little brother?" One of the elder ones growled. Karasuma signaled for the other agents to stand down. It wouldn't be good to fight a bunch of brats. In addition, these ones would probably accuse him of kidnapping a six year old, which would put a bad stain on his record even after everything got cleared up. The joke would go on for at least a decade.

"I believe there is a misunderstanding," Karasuma said, voice cold. He was hoping it would be enough to scare away the brats, but with no luck. Multiple of them drew weapons ranging from blunt objects like bats to even a few guns. Karasuma debated whether or not to put his hands up and explain the situation or just take out the kids and be quick about the entire thing. It wouldn't be much longer before Hiromi decided to check on her child, after all.

He didn't get the chance to finish decided, though. Instead Nagisa spoke up. "Don't worry, Onii-san. I will be fine." The kid must have smiled, but the aura coming off of him spoke of a different story. It was the first time Karasuma began to wonder if the kid picked up on his mother's true nature. He seemed to calm down the punks, because the one who spoke previously bowed his head slightly.

"Oh course, Nagi-san! I shouldn't have been so forward. Just know that we got your back, 'kay kid?" It seemed as though this change from formal to informal was normal within the group, since no one else was surprised except Karasuma and the hidden agents.

"Well, Nagi, we should get going." Nagisa gripped his hand tighter before leading them through the parting crowd.

Karasuma's thoughts were interrupted as Cross stretched and a groan escaped. "Honestly, all the brat does is cause trouble. Don't even know why I took him in. There were so many other people who could have taken him in. Ah, oh well. This place can deal with his crazy now." Cross reached into his pocket, pulling out a phone. "There's only ten minutes 'till they're done with this group session thing. Aaaah, what should I do… maybe Kiyoshi will talk to me? I'm sure he'll like an update on the brat. That guy's been saying to get Allen mental help for years." Cross left to make his call, leaving Karasuma alone in his thoughts. It was for the best that he was interrupted before reliving those next moments.

Instead he moved to think about some of his other cases. There was one where someone was experimenting on humans to create some sort of drug, it would seem. No one in the labs had figured out what the end goal of this person was, but each solution that was tested left a nasty side effect on the corpse. There wasn't an age group or ethnicity that was being targeted, though the majority of the victims had been male.

There was no identifiable trend among any of the vics, and the rate of deaths weren't going up so the unsub wasn't frantic or panicking. It would seem they derived no joy from the deaths, only from the science they were performing.

Karasuma much perfered this case over the mind fuck that was the Shiotas.

He didn't have much longer to think, however, seeing as the group just finished and Nagisa would be walking over to him any moment now.

There were times Karasuma wondered how Nagisa thought of him. Maybe as the one who tried abducting him multiple times when the boy was younger, maybe someone who could be thought of a constant in his chaotic life. After all, Nagisa would make contact with Karasuma at least once every year since the age of six. The kid never seemed to be upset at him for any of his actions, but the kid never seemed upset. Not even when his mother sent him on terrible missions alone, without her as backup.

"Karasuma-san," Nagisa said as he got closer. His eyes were bright, just as they had been the first time they met. Karasuma couldn't help but think Nagisa was just hiding underneath another mask that he hadn't yet taken off, even after the group session. It was to be expected, though. But why he would chose this sort of personality to adopt was beyond Karasuma. The kid wouldn't get out of therapy just by acting normal. In fact, it would only bring him farther into their grasp.

"Hello, Nagisa. How was the meeting?"

"Ah, it was great! I've made a lot of friends! And everyone was so weird, so I fit right in." Nagisa's eyes slowly became dazed as though he was euphoric. Everyone's eyes were drawn to him, and Karasuma felt the urge to groan. The kid was already putting his skills into use.

"I see. Well, please remember why you are here. No getting into trouble. I have to head out for now, since there is a case that requires my attention. I will come in every few days to check on you, and the people here will be giving me updates on your behavior and condition." Nagisa smiled and nodded, while everyone around them looked at Karasuma with mild dislike. He was used to that. People were always charmed by Nagisa to the point they didn't believe anyone had the right to be mad at him. Especially not the strict-looking Karasuma.

Karasuma walked out the doors, but not before seeing Cross Marian standing with a boy with white hair and an arm covered in burns. It must have been the kid that Nagisa was talking about before. There was no way someone else that age had such white hair, even if they tried to bleach it. Even the kid's eyebrows were stark white.

The smile on that kid's face looked almost identical to Nagisa's, which was probably why Nagisa copied it. If this kid took his interest, he was probably trying to create a personality that would fit best. If that meant almost identical to this kid's, that's what Nagisa would form. Now was the question of why. The only thing Nagisa didn't seem to copy was this guy's crazy eyes. They were glazed over yet intense, like he was seeing things that weren't there. It reminded Karasuma of the druggies that he had to chase back when he started on the force. The ones who saw demons chasing them, and would rip their skin off and even bleed to death. It reminded him of the guy who ran out in front of a car because he was being chased and got hit by a car. He didn't die instantly, but the guy probably wanted to. Even after he was unconscious and pumped full of fentanyl, the guy was still moaning.

It was a pretty terrible thought to run across his mind while looking into the eyes of a child.


	2. Some People Never Leave

**Shiota Nagisa**

_Male, heavy stress through short life, white hair, not bleached. Between age 15 and 16. Left alone as a child, found, found again due to currently unknown circumstances. Good fighter, mainly brawling. Highly muscled and well trained. Flexible. Plays the piano, but not for a few months. Definitely unstable, possible hallucinations._

_Male, horrible situations, though parts of the past have been forgotten/blocked. Between ages 20 and 23. Swordsman. Been in the facility for a while, four years minimum. Second child, though hasn't been affected for multiple years. Unstable, possible hallucinations. Is interested in flowers?_

_Female, horrible situation. Lost family. Between ages 18 and 23. Been in the facility for at least a year. Second child. Self-mutilation, possibly suicidal. Constant nightmares and re-living memory. Possible rape victim. Possible survivor's guilt. Former runner, destroyed legs. Is restrained during the night._

_Female. Information unknown. Age above 12, unknown limit due to contradicting information. Been in the facility for multiple years. Family visits. Unknown mental stability. Unknown problems. No physical problems. Possibly the oldest of the group, with a child mindset, but might be youngest._

_Male. Kind. No mental difficulty, between ages 25 and 30. Physically fit. Possibly meant to restrain patients who get out of hand. Has a cat. Also works in a bakery. Not married, but seeing someone._

_Male. Depressed. Between ages 16 and 18. Possible depression due to sport injury. Possibly suicidal. Well-muscled, sports player. Baseball. New to facility, did not choose to be here. Believes his life was ruined. No other hobbies._

_Male. Intelligent. Possible lingering abandonment issues. Former drug user, nothing extreme. Passed college early. Kind. Is compensating for something by doing this job, in addition to other circumstance. Injury to eye at a young age. Very physical, no sports._

_Male. Unknown mental instability. Has family member here (girl of unknowns, possible niece). Between ages 18 and 27. Mild substance use, not violent or depressed._

Nagisa entered all of the data collected from the rag tag group into his mind, storing it for later use. Each of these subjects would be part of his acts, and he had to choreograph his actions perfectly in order to get out. Though some of them, the one meant to (_muscle - restrain – orderly, intelligent male – therapist_), had to have known what he did in the past and were preparing themselves for his future work. It shouldn't be too hard to convince them he's stable. It would have to progress slowly, or the sudden change would be seen as what it was: an act. The first of the two orderly shouldn't be that hard to convince, seeing as the man was (_kind of_) innocent when it came to killers like himself. This didn't seem to be the place where people ruled mentally unstable in a court would be allowed entry.

Nagisa was a special case, he made sure of it. All of his performances were perfect, all possible flaws accounted for and diverted. Everyone and everything was perfectly scripted, even his unknowing participants on his stage. Just the way his mom taught him (_no Nagisa, that man is a pedophile. You have to act innocent. Let him try and play you, then flip it on him_). It was too bad she lost her sanity before he did. If she ever had it, that is.

Nagisa couldn't remember anymore.

The other one (_therapist_) would be harder. He's been trained to deal with deception (_not through school. Past experiences taught him caution_), especially of those deemed mentally unstable. On the other hand, if Nagisa managed to convince this guy, he'd be free to go. The court would have to allow it. There was no time restraints on his required stay in the facility. People thought a kid shouldn't have to deal with something like this for the rest of his life (_Everyone thinks he's a kid. Act young and innocent, get off easy)._

The average person is very convenient to use. Hiding within their numbers was the best tactic, the most useful thing his mom taught him. That, and how to act. All the killing techniques were useless. Child's play. Nagisa created his own, better and more efficient methods.

He was the talented one, not her. He even proved it, may she rot in hell.

**Allen Walker**

All of them were assholes. First, Cross throws him into this dump, saying Allen was seeing things and shit like that. Thrown in with the truly crazy people. One guy just kept smiling like a fucking lunatic, and Allen could see his predatory eyes taking in all of the details on everyone. There wasn't anything attached to him, so the guy wasn't an Akuma. Just crazy.

Then there was the brat, who had to have done something truly fucked up to get her ass tossed here. The brat couldn't be more than 10. But she just kept smiling about the devil knows what. Maybe she was gonna snap and murder them all, though it didn't look like that was her plan. It did seem like she wanted to go after the red headed dipshit therapist that kept on asking them questions and trying to get them to answer.

Allen would agree with the long haired dick head's comments on what he thought about the therapist, if only that guy wasn't such a dick.

"Ya know, you really shouldn't be talking so rudely to the therapist guy. Honestly, what's stuck up your butt?" God, if only he didn't have to stay polite in order to get out of this fuck hole, everything would be fine. Cross was such a dick for getting Allen to think such shitty thoughts. He was just starting to act like a normal brat when Cross came along.

"What was that moyashi? I didn't hear what you said with your fucking annoying voice. Maybe you should try me again?" The dipshit was still sitting, so Allen wouldn't be able to get up and beat his ass, but that would only last as long as the guy sat. One move in the wrong direction and Allen's hands would be at the fucker's throat.

"Now now, Yuu, Allen, calm down. We're just trying to get to know each other today. And Yuu, I told you to be nice to our new arrivals. This is not being nice. You haven't even said hello to either of them." The asshole spun to glare at the shrink sitting at the head of their 'talking circle'.

"Don't call me Yuu, you damn rabbit." A cute girl placed her hand on the dickbag's arm. Her legs were wrapped in bandages, but she had a cute smile. Her face was pale with dark bags under her eyes, though. Allen couldn't help but wonder what happened to make her look so haunted. The idiot didn't even pause to shrug her off. She had him whipped, it seemed. At the same time, Allen couldn't see any other sign that they were together. Perhaps they were childhood friends.

His eyes were drawn back to the first kid, the one around his age with the calculating eyes and kind smile. He looked slightly odd, but relatively harmless if you could forget about the feeling of choking that accompanied his stare. When their eyes met, Allen couldn't help the grin that took over his face. He might have found a companion in this shit hole. The kid was pretending, though Allen didn't know why or even how he knew the kid was stable.

When the demented grin returned to his expression, Allen couldn't help but be impressed. The only person who he'd met that could switch expressions with such fluidity was Mana. This kid was a performer.

Forcing his eyes off of the little brat, Allen drew his eyes back to the red-headed adult. The guy was so much like Cross that Allen wanted to puke. Long ass red hair, shitty eye patch on his face and a fucking grin. This guy made him look like an innocent puppy compared to the sadistic Cross, but the similarity was strong enough for a bit of hate to automatically make its way into his psyche.

"Alright everyone, since we haven't managed to finish the introductions, should we try again? Yuu, no interrupting this time, please. Right, Lenalee, would you start again?" The girl nodded. Allen debated trying to remember her name this time. He already forgot about the guy with the shoulder length dark hair, the clearly depressed guy, the long haired guy (though he noted he doesn't like the name 'Yuu'), and even the girl about to go once more. She had been interrupted.

"I'm Lenalee Lee. I'm here since I was attacked recently and some… stuff happened. Some people say it's survivor's guilt." Lavi nodded his approval and motioned for Allen.

"I'm Allen. My current guardian thinks I'm insane." This time, Lavi didn't approve right away, instead motioning for Allen to continue. When he didn't, Lavi sighed.

"Okay, Road, if you would. Please keep it short though." The little girl grinned.

"Hello everyone! My name is Road Kamelot. I've been in here since I was six after offing my brother's friend since he was talking up all of Wisely's attention. It's okay now, though. He comes to visit me eeeevery day!" Allen blinked. That was not what he was expecting. The next boy, the one with the blue hair and sharp eyes, barely reacted.

"Thank you for making that so short, Road. Nagisa, you're next." Allen had heard about a 'Nagisa Shiota' before. There was a boy on trial by that name after his mom died, supposedly killed by the child himself. No one knew much about it, other than that the mom was a serial killer and some people thought the kid did the right thing by killing her. The trial was a special case that kept the profile of the kid hidden, probably because he was a minor at the time. It had taken a year and a half before the kid's fate was decided. All there was to go off of was a sketch of the boy as described by a reporter that had permission to view the trial, but weren't allowed to take photos.

No one knew if the boy had killed anyone else before his mother, but the jury didn't seem to think so and there was no evidence left at any scenes to suggest a child was present, not that there was any evidence that could convict Hiromi Shiota either, but that didn't matter anymore.

"Hello, I'm Nagisa Shiota. My mother was a violent psychopath, and everyone wants to make sure that I turned out okay after being raised by her. Please take care of me." He finished with a serene smile that had a few of the other wackjobs cooing at him, though most of them did it in their head. Allen could feel himself bubbling up with rage, the same way it did every time Mana would pull something like this. Tricking people is all fine and dandy, but making people love you and then stabbing them in the back went a little too far. He pushed it down, though. Mana never did something terrible with his performances. Maybe Nagisa wouldn't, either. Allen could give the kid the benefit of the doubt. There's a first time for everything, after all.

"Wonderful!" Lavi exclaimed. "Now let's move on to how everyone has been doing since our last meeting. Who would like to start?" The tiny girl raised her hand excitedly.

"My brother came to visit me again yesterday! He brought me a cake, too! Wise says that it's almost my birthday, so next time he's going to be bringing some candles along with him as well. You know those swirly purple ones that I saw in the magazine a month or so ago? Well, I think that he picked those up and is going to bring them for me. But don't tell him I know that. I want to act surprised." The girl let out a wicked smile. Lavi just nodded along with her words, as did the tall guy with dark brown hair. The girl with the injured legs smiled with her deadened eyes. Nagisa actually looked happy for the brat, but he probably didn't care about the entire thing with killing her brother's best friend.

"I've been getting more sleep." The injured girl said after a short silence. Lavi clapped excitedly, completely contrary to her own sober energy.

"And how much more sleep?" She muttered something that sounded like 'ten minutes…' before cutting off again. The guy with the shoulder length hair started talking about his life outside of the facility, briefly describing to the newcomers that he's only there a couple days a month since his brother wants the best care for him, but that the guy isn't ill enough to require more time.

"So," the shrimp next to him said, very quiet as not to draw attention to herself. "Why are you really in here? There has to be a reason someone would pay so much for just a 'little problem' unless they were overbearing like my dad."

"People are too blind to see things the way I see them. They don't understand all of the horrible creatures that hang onto their bodies, and they don't listen when I tell them. Not even when I show them. I was cursed with the truth years ago, and so I tried to help others to free themselves and the creatures. No one here is being controlled, which is surprising, but doesn't mean that they won't be possessed in the future. I have to save these creatures. I have to keep walking." His voice stayed at a whisper the entire time, and he was grateful the other guy just kept on talking. Something about art that probably led to him getting drunk, though he didn't say that. Maybe it was just tipsy. He might have an alcohol problem that was part of the reason he's in here, so he can't mention it to the red head.

"Will you show me sometime? I love to see other people's hallucinations." Allen was expecting that. Even people who are legitimately crazy still think what he sees is weird. If only he could show everyone else what it is he sees, then they would understand. But he can't. People don't believe his pictures. They never have.

"I don't think you're ready for it. Sorry, kid. No one should have to see just how horrible these poor creatures are, no one except me."

"So what did you do to get cursed? I mean, there had to have been something. Did you try and create one of the creatures? That would be messed up. Then you wouldn't be able to judge other people for not believing, when you were someone who must not have believed that they were truly that bad."

"That's why I have to help them. If someone tried to create one of these creatures, I have to stop them before their bodies get taken over, and I have to make sure the akuma soul never gets hurt in the way it would once they take over the body. There's no one else out there that knows how to stop them. Only people with holy weapons can do it, but no one knows where the holy weapons are, or who has them. They disguise themselves, just like my arm did." He motioned his arm forwards to draw her attention to the severely damaged skin with what looked like a cross carved deep into the back of his hand.

Road's eyes lit up at the sight of such destruction still being able to function. She barely restrained herself from grabbing for the arm and clenching it tightly in her grip to see if it shattered upon contact. Lavi would scold her, and she still hadn't figured out how to break his stability like she did with the last one. This brat was too guarded for any of her ideas. She still had time though, and even more opportunities.

Allen glanced around the circle, searching for anything that could distract him from Road's extreme focus. Most people would flinch away at the sight, some ignore it. Allen didn't care one way or the other now. He had a purpose, and his arm would save the world. It didn't make it any easier to sit still while being inspected with such detail.

The blue haired boy was staring at the current speaker. Allen vaguely remembered the name 'Sugino' to match with the face. Since the other kid was interested, he decided to give it a chance.

"-hard. I still can't get my pitches the way that they were before, but the doc said that my muscles have healed enough that they can move properly." He rubbed at the side of his neck, and Allen noted how he dragged his nails across, creating faint scratch marks that would darken later. Nagisa smiled with such a strong force of compassion that Allen had a hard time looking past it and into the uncaring depths of his eyes.

He was wrong. This kid is a better actor than Mana could ever be. Allen had a lot to live up to, if he wanted to reach this kid's level. Being with the psychopathic mother definitely made a difference in his up bringing.

The brat automatically opened up to such an intense show of emotions without the sympathy that would normally follow. Nagisa had him hooked, with a strong bond of perceived camaraderie formed.

"Nagisa, would you like to share what your past week has been like? I would love to learn more about you." The Cross look-alike was just fishing for something that would make the boy show his true colours. Maybe it was doing it entirely to help out the boy, maybe he was making sure the kid actually was meant to be in the facility. Allen didn't care. It would be interesting to know how the blue-haired boy wanted others to perceive him.

"I actually haven't been very affected by the changes, I guess it's because mother always had us moving around. Karasuma-san was with me the majority of the time. I knew him when I was younger, so his presence didn't bother me much. Other people staring at me was fairly annoying, but mother made sure that didn't affect me." Nagisa's head slowly tilted to the side, and his eyes became foggy. So he planned to play a disturbed victim. It would take a while for Nagisa to get out of this place, but they wouldn't throw him in jail for anything, if he did indeed do something illegal under his mother's supervision.

He was also separating himself from Shiota Hiromi by calling her 'mother' as opposed to 'mom' or any other form of endearment. There was, of course, the off chance that he did call her mother naturally, but that was less likely.

Allen briefly wondered if Hiromi actually did teach him to go unbothered by people's stares, and how exactly she would go about that. Nagisa had to have lived a strange life and learned a lot of different skills that most people wouldn't even consider. Of course, so did Allen.

Nagisa glanced over in Allen's direction, but his glassy eyes didn't give away aura other than the feeling of a doll.

"Would you like to talk about Karasuma-san? You seem to respect him, and I would love to thank him properly for helping you." The look-alike smiled kindly. Allen didn't think there was an alternative motive within this guy, but he was starting to give off the feeling of a fake.

"Of course! He really is amazing! He managed to follow mother all around the world! Though I don't know how he managed to do that, since he's based in Japan, but I guess he was the only one that managed to actually keep track of us. He helped me out once when I was about to be hit by a truck. He got hit instead, but was only in the hospital for a couple of days. I don't know how, even I don't recover that fast. And there was this other time where dogs were chasing me across a street and he glared at them, and all of them stopped! There's really times that I feel he isn't actually human. But that's okay. I don't think mother or I are, either." Allen checked once more that there wasn't an akuma floating around the boy, even though there wasn't a chance for one to have come since his last check. It was just reflex at this point.

"I see, he does sound very nice. Allen, do you mind talking about your week?"

"Let me think for a moment, please. I was mostly in Cross's house waiting for him to decide what to do. I believe he became tired of my presence. He took care of me well, but whenever I saw something that he couldn't, he would get upset and go drinking. I stopped telling him about everything, but I think it was too late. But it's okay. As long as Mana believes I can keep walking, there's not problem." Allen touched his arm briefly, and let his finger brush over the cross that appeared on the back of his hand three day's after Mana died. It was when Mana told him to continue: to fight.

**Shiota Nagisa**

Allen rubbed the ridged cross that was carved into his hand (_connected to 'Mana', caused by him?)_ as he smiled. No love, that wasn't love. That was obsession, all Allen can think of is his goal (_Mana's goal_). But his smile was pretty. Not sane, never sane. Just pretty. Should he copy it? That would cause a stronger connection between him and Allen, and Lavi would believe he can't help but be imprinted on by other people (_like the doll he was made to be_). There were no downsides to use that smile at this moment (_Karasuma-san will notice. He always notices_) so there was no harm in doing it (_Karasuma-san can't do anything now_).

Allen didn't seem to mind (_he noticed though, he has experience with copying_). Lavi didn't notice, none of the other humans did either.

"I understand. Well, I believe your guardians are wondering how you are, and it's about time for our session to be over. I'll see you all at our next sessions. Allen, Nagisa, if either of you ever want to talk about anything at all, just ask an orderly to find me." Lavi walked out the wooden doors while the long time patients went through a hallway. Nagisa and Allen followed the patients through to another door where Karasuma would be waiting, as long as a different case didn't come up and he was called away.

Turns out there was nothing, and Karasuma was standing near a tall man with long red hair (_naturally straight, no dye_). Both were lost in thought (_completely open for kill shots, Karasuma's neck was clear with back turned, he'd dodge, sensing Nagisa but that would leave him open at the shoulder joint, easy to take down fully; red-head seems purposefully open, understands Karasuma's position and is hiding his skills, might not be able to change positioning quick enough to block_) so Nagisa called out Karasuma's name. He was asked a boring question about the meeting and Nagisa gave a boring answer.

Karasuma's comment about keeping Nagisa under watch earned him dirty looks from the other patients and the orderly that were in the session. Karasuma didn't care, but he looked (_disappointment? with mild respect_) annoyed that the humans were already taken by Nagisa's act. Then he dismissed himself to go to a job (_no reason to wait until the session finished, possibly sentiment or regret for not getting Nagisa away from Her earlier_) before the conversation could continue.

With nothing else to do, Nagisa walked to where Allen (_well concealed annoyance, continuing to act the gentleman_) was talking with the redhead (_now on guard that Karasuma has left, knows who Nagisa is, will recognize that Nagisa copied Allen's expression_). Nagisa let his eyes glass over once more, closer to how they looked during the trial, but kept the same borrowed smile.

"Hello," he started. The man glared at him with the force of his mother on a good day, and he felt a little warmth inside. He loved those days (_they would go to a beach sometimes and play in the salty water, Nagisa ignored the sting of his open wounds. They were having fun_) when they happened. His mother's smile was always so sweet.

"Allen, right? It's nice to meet you. So you're also new to therapy? I'm kind of excited to meet new people and actually stay with them. Mother and I moved around a lot, so there weren't many people I could become close friends with. Ah, have I already said that? I can't remember…" He trailed off for a moment before his eyes cleared up again (_Allen noted the perfect timings, he knows this is an act for Cross's benefit_). "You're Cross, right? Or are you Mana? I heard something about you, probably."

"Cross, and don't compare me to Mana, you brat. I'm not that crazy." The male (_not gangster, not hitman, probably on the bad side of many governments, but not part of Karasuma's jurisdiction, does not know Her personally_) said, and well disguised fury rolled off of Allen (_not obsession - worship_). Cross noticed, but didn't care. "Well, if we're done here, I'll go chat up Irina (_owner of the facility, friends of Karasuma, idealist with a dark past, Cross has no chance_), see if she's willing to go one last time."

The children with matching smiles watched him go.


	3. A Connection Forms

Akabane Karma

Life has been extra annoying since Karma's last episode a month ago. Now that the principle has helped the entire school freak out about Karma's mental health, there's even less reason to go to school. Now everyone is cautious around him for a reason other than the tasteful pranks he would pull, or his ability to beat them to a pulp while smiling. Of course, they were still scared of him for that, since his episode caused him to destroy an entire classroom in a fit of rage, but since the principal said it was due to his issues, people cared less about the violence and more about how pitiful he was.

Oh course, there was hardly any reason to go previously. With all the books he's read, everything was just old information. The main reason he came to therapy was his long standing promise with Lavi. For as many times Karma came to lessons, Lavi would continue to teach him something new. That man knew a lot of information about a lot of different things.

The people were alright here, too, if a little constrained. The not-so-young lady running up to his was the most tolerable of the group.

"Karma! Guess what, we have two new people! I reeeeally like Allen, so you should come meet him first. But stay back, okay? He's mine." Her playful face turned dark for a moment, and Karma was reminded of how she landed herself in this place to begin with. Allen deserved some amount of pity in light of his no doubt awful future as her plaything.

Karma didn't have any to give.

"Are you gonna go physical or mental this time?" He asked. It depended on how much 'love' she had for this boy.

"Ah, don't be like that. I'm just getting to know him! I don't even know if we'll be friends." So it was definitely physical for now, but mental was a distinct possibility. "But anyway, you can check out the other new guy too. His name started with an 'N'. He doesn't really resonate with me. Even less than you or Tyki do." They were the only people in the facility that Road didn't care to mess with. Tyki was her young uncle who is possibly younger than her, but Karma never cared to ask.

The guy had two personalities, one that thought of himself as an average traveler looking for work, and one who saw himself as above everyone and would become violent when challenged. Whenever he would try and ground himself in the 'traveler' personality, he would create works of art and focus his mind. At some point people noticed and he had become well known under an alias unconnected to the facility.

"Interesting. Well, how about you introduce me after my appointment?" Road nodded before scampering off to bug someone into submission. Karma decided to ask about the new kids during his appointment. Lavi could at least give him an unbiased answer to his questions, as long as they didn't break confidentiality.

That was shut down pretty quick, though. "I can not tell you anything about them, you will have to find out yourself. Sorry, Karma. I'm blocked from even the basic information."

"Really? That's so damn annoying. Well, then tell me about you. But not the basic stuff or anything. What happened when you had to stay in a crazy house? It was an accidental overdose, right? Did they keep you there for long? Did you mess with anyone? You're smart and all, so you had to have ideas."

"I did," Lavi started. "I just don't think you'd be interested in any of them. That, and the ones you would be interested would backfire on me. But let's save this until after our session, okay?" Karma dramatically leaned back in his chair, inspecting Lavi.

"Acceptable," he replied after a moment of silence. Lavi copied his body positioning.

"Then let's continue."

The time past with Karma talking openly about personal discoveries, like how he can charm old people into thinking he's a nice kid, and how people continue to underestimate him and demand to fight as vengeance for friends and family. He brags about not sending them to the hospital, and about catching on video that they were the aggressors and not him.

He talks about how his parents are still never home, and how he's learning to come to terms with that. Lavi simply reminds him that it's alright. That he doesn't need to ever be fine with that, he just needs to notice that he isn't, and that he doesn't ever have to respect them for their shortcomings, just respect them for their success.

He talks about the annoying people at school, and he growls about their pity. Lavi lets him rage.

He calms down, and he talks about the books he's reading. He talks about why he likes the characters, and how he relates to them all: the protagonists and the villains. Lavi listens until the time is over. Then Lavi talks.

He talks about the favors he would pull, and how he was on the good side of everyone. He talked about the people he met, especially the psychologist that helped him figure out his path. He talked about the patience who needed help that they weren't getting, and he talked about how sad that was.

He stopped when there was a knock on the door, warning them of the time.

Karma left after a handshake. It was time for someone else to come in and talk. Besides, Road was probably just outside the door, waiting for him to finish. It wouldn't do to keep her waiting.

As predicted, Road latched onto his neck for a few moments right once he entered the main area. "Come oooon, let's go see Allen! He might show you some of the akuma that he sees! He's reaally good at drawing. Almost Tyki good!"

"Akuma as in demons? Is he Japanese?" Road shook her head.

"Nope, I think British, but I don't know who raised him. They might have taught him some words. From what I can tell, the parent was messed up, and when he left, Allen got messed up and couldn't function in society. He kept attacking people, saying he'd free them and the akuma possessing them. I sort of understand him, though. It's all out of love for akuma and humans, right? Oh, but you should be careful. He'll probably see you as a demon. For obvious reasons."

"And you're any less? Didn't you torture animals for fun?"

"Please, that wasn't torture, you meany. I just didn't want them to die. It's not my fault they kept trying to escape." Only Road could look that cute when refuting her torturous acts. It didn't help that she truly thought it was justified to cut off limbs and let the poor animal bleed to death as it screamed for release.

How her parents never put a stop to that previously was beyond him.

"We're here. Just remember that Allen is mine, no stealing." They opened the door to Allen's room. Karma was greeted by a massive number of disturbing drawings of tortured souls and doll-looking killing machines. He assumed these were the akuma.

"Ah, Road, come on in. It's lovely to see you, as always. And who is this?" A boy with white hair - that had to have been bleached - said. His arms were hidden by long sleeves, but his left hand showed some heavily damaged skin. Right once Karma's eyes made contact with the skin, Allen's hand disappeared under the desk.

"Hey, I'm Karma Akabane. I'm one of the stop by people. Road said you were new, and that I should come to meet you. What are you in for?"

"Ah, of course. They believe I have hallucinations of demonic creatures. It seems people do not enjoy being warned of their surroundings if the surroundings are invisible to their own eyes." Allen had a sweet smile, and Karma could tell why Road liked him. The guy was completely lost in his own delusion. It would definitely be interesting to convince him he's entirely right before breaking all of that down again.

Karma caught a glimpse of what was happening within Allen's thoughts. There was a brief picture of a grinning clown that he could just barely visualize behind Allen with a large, upper face mask just behind his head and reflected in his eyes. It was interesting, since the only time Karma would feel an aura enough to actually visualize it is if the person in question has the physical and mental capabilities to be able to harm him.

Lavi says that's a skill gained through being left on his own to defend himself against people of all ages in all different forms. Turns out that it's not a bad thing, but it isn't good that it had to form. Like his fighting abilities, it turned out to be necessary for survival.

"Nice to meet you, Allen. They say I have some extreme abandonment issues, which can make me unfit for society or something. Hopefully I won't be around here too much, currently it's just for weekly check ups. We'll see, though. The outside world pisses me off sometimes, so I might just have to kill everyone." He grinned with all teeth.

"Ah, that would be quite good. There are many people who are living in the world that have been taken by akuma, you know. If you are capable of destroying them, it means you have innocence. I do hope you manage to take care of the poor akuma souls."

"Have you managed to destroy one before? You make it sound easy."

"Yes, I have, but you should be aware that it is not simple. Only people with innocence are able to fight them and come out alive. No other weapon works on akuma. Cross, my master, has innocence, but I have not met anyone else who wields it. People are only able to protect themselves against the weakest form of akume, level ones. After that, there is only death and destruction."

"Understood. If I see any of them, I'll make sure to murder them like the demons they are. Sound good?" Allen's expression shifted for a moment to one of anger before settling back at serene. He didn't say anything.

"Well, you two should go have fun. Talk with Nagisa, he is a wonderful person. I need to return to my studies." Allen turned away with a small smile and a wave, and Road herded him out of the room.

"You made him angry already, that's pretty impressive! He rarely ever lets his anger show! Maybe I should bring you around more often. It's cute to see him trying to hide it."

"Sure, I'd love to find more buttons to press! But Lavi might get mad at you, you know. Aren't you trying to break him? It won't work if Lavi catches on. I'd rather you stay here so we can play." Road touched the back of her neck and tilted her head. Her narrowed eyes seemed to gleam with mischief.

"Not if I break Lavi first. It shouldn't be much longer, you know. He's lasted nearly a year, which I guess is impressive, but it isn't possible for him to be able to go on forever. I've already found his weaknesses. Not I just need to wear them down enough."

"Road, normally it only takes you a month or two. Maybe this guy is better than you think. You've been working on those weaknesses for months already." Road tisked at him.

"Now now, you know that people aren't able to fully protect themselves, they can only put up flimsy defences. All people are vulnerable to the same techniques, and I just happen to know all of them. I could break you, too, but I won't. You're too fun. Anyway, this is Nagisa's room. He should be in here, but I can't say for sure. He moves around a lot. Any time there's studying to do, he sits for a bit before getting frustrated. Turns out he doesn't know much about basic school things. Like, he has no ability with math whatsoever. It's sorta pathetic."

Road opened the door without knocking, and the first think Karma noticed was the giant yellow octopus sitting on the bed. The next thing was the set of Sonic Ninja everything that was resting at bedside. Karma automatically moved to inspect the merchandise. Whoever this Nagisa guy was had to be a collector for years to be able to gain all of this. There was even the new movie that wasn't even out on DVD, which seemed pretty impossible.

"Ah, hello there. I'm sorry, but I don't think I have seen you around before. Are you one of the people who only come around sometimes?" There was blue haired boy standing in the doorway with a smile closely resembling the one Allen had, though his eyes were glassed over.

"Nagisa Shiota, huh? I was wondering where they decided to stick you. How'd you manage to get such a nice place? Was your mom loaded when you killed her?" In Karma's peripheral vision he saw Road's eyes spark with interest. It seemed no one in the facility actually knew what Nagisa's back story was. Karma had forgotten about the limited access to outside media.

"Karasuma-san is extremely kind to me, even though I don't deserve it. I believe he feels bad about letting me stay with Mother for as long as he did. He must have asked favors of people, so that I would be allowed here." Nagisa seemed to fold in on himself, becoming smaller and smaller until Road moved towards him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure there's a reason you are here, Nagi! I mean, you managed to get away from your Mother for a reason. Being raised by a psychopath couldn't have been easy. But you turned out fine, even if you had to kill her to do that. So don't worry, okay?" Road was following her good girl act, and Karma couldn't help but notice she seemed proud of Nagisa.

There'd been a rumor going around that Road killed her brother's best friend, but it hadn't been confirmed and Karma didn't trust rumor. The way she was talking made it sound more like she wanted to kill a parent. Throughout all of their time together, Karma had never heard about a parent from either her or her uncle, Tyki.

"Thank you, Road. Now, could you introduce me to the person you've invited into my room?"

"I'm Karma Akabane. Nice collection of Sonic Ninja stuff you got. How long have you been collecting?"

"Ah, not long enough. When Mother would see that I had new things, she would break them. All of these are what I could get to Karasuma-san before they were found. The oldest one is probably a year old. Recently, Karasuma-san has been sending me what he finds around." Karma whistled low.

"You mind if I watch some of these with you? I haven't been able to find anyone else who actually watches Sonic Ninja since they think it's for kids or something." Nagisa's eyes lit up and Karma had the distinct feeling that the other boy never talked with anyone about his interest.

"That would be so fun!" Karma barely noticed Road walk out as Nagisa began talking about his favorite characters, with Karma adding in his own reasonings every so often.

They both agreed that the main character was a useless idiot.

Shiota Nagisa

_Room door open, two sets of foot steps. Small, female: large, male. Female is Road. Male is unknown, not met previously. Still a child, but knows how to move properly to stay quiet. Not attempting to attack, merely looking. 'Road must have entered first, to see if I was in there. She must want to introduce me to the new guy.'_

_Never met before, lives in the outside world. Knows Nagisa's circumstance. Possibly dangerous, possibly good to reinforce act. To be determined._

Nagisa walked through the open doorway to see a relatively tall redhead looking at his Sonic Ninja stuff. He felt a brief smile stretch his face unwillingly before he killed it.

_Interested in Sonic Ninja, good to talk with. Used to fighting, brawler. Constantly exerting dominance as instinct, feels the need to be powerful, possible abandonment issues, needed to protect self from others, probably adults. Unconfirmed, over 80% likelihood._

Nagisa opened his mouth to introduce himself, giving a guess on the man's status due to his current information (_a patient that rarely stops by, long enough to become familiar with Road, long term patient, short visits_) which was confirmed by the spark in the boy's eyes.

_Troublemaker, enjoys messing with people, prankster, watch out. Not homicidal, just violent. Sadistic, watch out. Not dangerous to self, but annoying in ideas. Intelligent. Good to train, could become a hit man._

Nagisa replied to his taunting with a basic but truthful answer, for the most part. _Cause Road to react, she enjoys this male. Road's affection equals his affection. Road likes cute things. Shrink. She is upset about leaving her family. Become a child as she was._

Road spoke words meant to comfort. "You turned out fine, even if you had to kill her to do that." Yes, Mother deserved death. Nagisa did not deserve life. Mother wanted to stay with Nagisa forever, he is being a bad doll by staying apart.

Nagisa didn't care.

It was time to learn about the redhead, and why Road enjoyed him so much. It was time to talk about Sonic Ninja, one of the only things Nagisa cared about in this place. The story of a pathetic savior who deserved nothing and got everything.

The redhead was interesting enough. He had the same viewpoint, in a way. The main didn't deserve to be the main. The other characters were wonderful, though. And less dramatic.

Karma did not mention Nagisa's past again during the entire interaction. He was too distracted (_excited, slight perspiration, voice raising, changing topics quickly_) by the fact someone else enjoyed Sonic Ninja to care who that person was.

They planned days to watch some of the movies together. Karma insisted on watching all of the previous movies before the new one. Nagisa agreed, even though he had memorized them all long ago. It was best to have something playing through his head when Mother sent him on boring assignments.

Nagisa wanted Karma to leave already. It was odd. He didn't normally feel the need to push someone away, since they would do that on their own. Unless that person was Karasuma-san, but he didn't get pushed away (_Nagisa needed a constant, Karasuma-san was always there)_ and Nagisa didn't care what Karasuma-san knew. Nagisa didn't know what to do with Karma (_he will not be controlled easily, and Nagisa wasn't looking to control him, no point in being around him, no point in connecting like this_). The only option left was for him to leave.

Karma did, when it was time for him to head home.

Nagisa went to Allen's room.

"Did you meet the redhead as well? He reminded me of Road, though possibly more sadistic." Allen asked as Nagisa entered the room. He was in the middle of slashing a stack of old akuma drawings to pieces with a piece of glass he broke off from something. Nagisa didn't ask how.

"Ah, yeah. He was fine." The two smiled with similar expressions once more, until Allen's went wicked.

"You're interested, aren't you. Have you decided to train him, or do you want him away from you? I could tell he was talented. Cross would enjoy fucking him over." Nagisa had just finished sweeping the room for any listening devices or cameras. So far none of the bedrooms held them, but there was always the chance of a new addition with the two of them spending so much time in their rooms. Whoever owned the facility had to be stressed about the two most violent patients talking together without any sort of supervision.

Allen Walker

Allen knew the moment he asked the question what the answer would be.

"I don't like him." Nagisa didn't drop the smile he first carried when arriving in the room, the one that reminded Allen of Mana. A chill briefly flashed through Allen when he remembered one particular time Mana smiled like that.

Nagisa's smile changed minutely, and Allen pulled himself back to the present.

"Has he decided to play with you, the way Road plays with me? It could be interesting to see the other side of it, you know."

"I don't care to 'understand' the way you do, Allen." Nagisa curled up on Allen's bed and closed his eyes. Allen continued to make confetti out of his old drawings. They sat in silence for a while. Nagisa's breathing slowed and Allen noticed how alert he seemed, even in sleep. It was something Allen had taught himself previously, back when he was still with the circus and before Mana came to help him. Allow yourself to look defenceless when you are expected to be, and strike when most underestimated.

That kept him alive long enough. It also helped him survive Cross.

Allen didn't dare stay silent as he moved among the room. Silent meant calculating, calculating meant danger, danger meant Nagisa would attack. Allen didn't know if Nagisa would stop his attack, even after realizing who it was. It was similar to the way Mana would react. The old clown was used to living with a dog who would make noise no matter what was happening. If Allen would move silently, Mana got freaked out and would attack, not recognizing who was making the noise.

He started with his handstand push-ups. Allen normally wouldn't allow his body to lose muscle mass, but people outside of this room were never happy when they saw him increasing his strength. It was possibly because he was thought of as a violent patient, even though he hadn't attacked anyone. There wasn't anyone possessed by akuma in the facility that he'd seen yet.

There would be at some point, though. Then they wouldn't allow him to roam as freely as he does now. Allen just needed to get the job finished before he was locked up tight. It was the only way to free the souls.

Allen heard a sniffle coming from his bed, and saw Nagisa was lightly crying. His tears trailed around his nose, down his cheek and into a growing puddle in his sheets. Allen noticed the flash of Nagisa's grin that grew as more tears fell. It wasn't a grin he'd seen before, not on himself, not Mana, not Cross. A small smile formed on Allen's expressions as well. He finally saw the person behind the act, though just a part of him. At least, Allen assumed that was what this was. There was a possibility that Nagisa was acting this as he slept as well.

That person was a young brat trying to survive in this fucked up world and get past the problems from a deranged and demented mother. He was doing it the only way he knew how - keep going, keep a mask, smile at danger.

Allen could relate to that as well. Mana told him to keep walking, and taught him to smile at all times. As a clown, if you aren't able to smile, there's no reason for your audience to smile. Then there's no point to your existence.

Allen got to work finishing up with lock picking kit. The facility didn't give him hangers or anything else in the way of metal bits, so he had to grab things from other people's rooms and anything left in community areas. He had to get the hook pick finished before doing anything else. A couple of the doors going outside required them.

Each lock in the building was different by small amounts. They were giving a good effort in stopping patients from escaping.


End file.
